“The anti-terrorist operation started overnight Monday,”
said Turchinov. “The aim of these actions is to protect the
citizens of Ukraine.”

According to Turchinov, this ‘anti-terrorist operation’ also aims
to prevent “attempts to break Ukraine apart.”

The anti-government protesters in south-eastern Ukraine have
recently been protesting against coup-appointed Kiev authorities.
They demand constitutional reform that would take into
consideration the interests of all Ukrainian regions. They also
propose the federalization of the country and to make Russian the
second official language in the regions.

Earlier, a clip posted to YouTube showed local people in the town
of Rodinskoye, Donetsk Region, who stopped a tank allegedly on
its way from Kiev to take part in the crackdown against
south-eastern Ukrainian cities.

Andrey Parubiy, head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense
Council, announced the first battalion of a National Guard
“comprised of volunteers from Maidan self-defense troops", has
left Kiev for the south-east.

According to Parubiy, the “battalion is comprised of
volunteers from the Maidan self-defense troops".

On Monday, Turchinov signed a decree to officially begin a
“special anti-terrorist operation” in the east of the country.

He ordered "that the National Security and Defense Council's
decision of April 13, 2014, 'On urgent measures to overcome the
territorial threat and to preserve the territorial integrity of
Ukraine' be put into effect."

Russia has warned that if Kiev uses force against anti-Maidan
protests in eastern Ukraine, this would undermine the effort to
convene a four-party conference on resolving the crisis in the
country, which would include the US, the EU, Russia and Ukraine.

Turchinov also proposed conducting a joint operation with UN
peacekeeping forces, a decision that was strongly condemned by
Russian FM Sergey Lavrov at a Beijing press conference on Tuesday
as “totally unacceptable.”

The Kiev authorities have already tried to launch a so-called
“anti-terrorist operation” in the eastern city of Slavyansk,
Donetsk Region, after anti-government protesters seized several
buildings in the city.

Gunfire broke out on Sunday, after troops in black uniforms
supported by armored vehicles and several helicopters approached
the roadblock set up by the locals. One person was killed and two
others injured during the crackdown.

There were rumors that among the troops were the members of the
radical ultranationalist Right Sector movement, who were
mobilized to take decisive steps to “defend Ukraine’s
sovereignty.”